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I completely disagree with this article. If you need someone working, lets say 30-40 hours per week and you hire an on-site consultant then the consultant will
by oellegaard 13y ago
I completely disagree with this article. If you need someone working, lets say 30-40 hours per week and you hire an on-site consultant then the consultant will also spend some time going to the toilet, talking to people at the office etc.
To go with the many unscientific formulas used in the article, here is one more:
consultant_cost = employee_cost + revenue_to_consultant_firm
employee_cost = consultant_cost - revenue_to_consultant_firm
In short: If you actually need a full time developer (and are able to find a qualified one), you are better off hiring him yourself, if you need him for a while.
The article is well-written but it's marketing mumbo jumbo for hiring consultants.
Disclaimer: I work as a consultant, but I'm hired because they don't need my position full time and they don't have other people in house who have the same knowledge.
- amplification 13y agoI think the premise is that consultants often bill by the hour and don't include bathroom breaks, screwing around, etc... as billable hours.
- oellegaard 13y agoI think that indeed is the case if you use them for an hour or two. If you have them hanging around full time at the office, I doubt they would pause it for a 5-10 min bathroom break.
- RougeFemme 13y agoWe use consultants who bill by the hour. They don't charge us for lunch, but other than that, they are considered on the clock. We don't micromanage, so we are charged for any screwing around. . .unless we micromanage and they really overdo the screwing around and as long as they are meeting their milestones, we rarely - if ever - know if/when they are screwing around. It's not worth it to us - financially or mentally - you to micromanage to that level. Ditto for bathroom breaks.
- jeltz 13y agoI have never worked with any consultants like that. The ones I have worked with count hours almost the same way as normal employees.
- gdilla 13y agoWe have some excellent consultants. They bill in 15min increments. So I assume we don't pay them for dicking around if they do partake (and they do, as they're human). They're still 100% utilization.
- chank 13y agoAssumptions... Most consultants charge for total time on-site. Not just at their desk working on your project. I think you're confusing consultants with Freelancers.
- monkeynotes 13y agoWhat is the difference between Consultant and Freelancer? Coming from the UK I'd call myself a Freelancer. I work on-site, paid by the hour, but I do invoice for toilet breaks, lunch, and so on. A Consultant in my mind is someone who comes in and advises on projects, and a Freelancer is someone who sits at a desk and performs skill-based tasks.
- Silhouette 13y agoWhat is the difference between Consultant and Freelancer? The former has better marketing (and a commensurate increase in rates, naturally). But seriously, given the breadth of roles that could reasonably be described as freelance, there's little meaningful or objective distinction between freelancers and consultants. I don't think the distinction between freelancing and contracting is particularly relevant today either, though some would strongly disagree.
- garrickvanburen 13y agoI share these definitions.
- walshemj 13y agoIR35 :-) For non UK folk IR35 is a rule brought in to penalize self employed IT people of course self employed lawyers and accountants don't have this problem.